Originally Posted by Air Ace
Your thinking is along similar lines as CASA. Whether QF holds an AOC authorising RPT services is irrelevant.
It is relevant, what CASA wants is that where a passenger buys space on an aircraft, they are afforded a common safety standard. This will eventually come into play when the new Passenger Transport classification comes into play.
I think CASA was on the right track with the publication of policy CEO-PN007-2009, however I think a number of the paragraphs fail to deliver (e.g. para 12 in my view is bad policy). The AAT decision I think is a very sensible outcome. Many mining charters do not fit the test used in para 12, as often the mine operator will charter an aircraft, however the passenger list may not only include workers from the mine, independent contractors, and other service providers (i.e. a train driver working for another company), and even government employees. However generally a lot of these charter operators also have a RPT AOC.
I think CASA were trying to clarify the standard of AOC (i.e. does the operator have a RPT AOC) that needs to be in place where regular charters (even if they are not an RPT service) are in place that the public can buy individual seats on. The RPT AOC is the highest standard AOC an operator can gain in Australia.
Also we also need to keep in mind that in cases such as these, the initial complaint may have come from industry. This would not be the first time in history where a competing operator may have made a complaint to CASA alleging that another operator is conducting operations not permitted by their AOC, knowing full well they stand to gain financially if they are shutdown by CASA. CASA is then in a position where they are dammed if they do investigate, and dammed if they do not, this abuse by industry to use the regulator for business gain I think should be legislated against.
I am not in favour of the "sting" performed, it does nothing but to promote distrust between the operator and the regulator. A more sensible way to promote safety is for the operator to work with the operator to develop the points outlined in paragraph 20 of policy CEO-PN007-2009.
Like check and training should have a small emphasis on the checking, and a larger emphasis on training, as a regulator they should have a small emphasis on enforcement (checking) and a large emphasis on safety promotion (training).